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2014 Fantasy Basketball Auction Values Payroll Index #FantasyNBA

Posted On

10/21/2014

By

Stefan Schumacher

It’s time to draft in your NBA fantasy league. Lebron is on Cleveland now and you desperately want to get him. But you probably won’t. In fact, you’re only going to get one, maybe two of the top 10 or 12 players. Any more than that and you’ll be out of money, assuming this is an auction draft.

So how do you make the most of your fantasy NBA payroll?

SurePayroll has the answers. Payroll is our specialty, after all. And, of course, the biggest names and the highest paid players are not necessarily going to be the best fantasy basketball values.

Note: This is not a list of our best fantasy picks, but rather the ones you can get for the cheapest that will still provide strong value.

Point Guards

Monta Ellis - Recently returning to practice after a knee injury, the explosive guard is a top five point guard by our rankings. However, he's only the 9th most expensive.

Brandon Jennings - Only $15 in an ESPN fantasy league, compared to $30 for Chris Paul or Kyle Lowry, we have him ranked in the top 10, and the Pistons think his decision making will be improved this season.

Shooting Guards

DeMar DeRozan - The bad news is that outside of James Harden, the market for pure shooting guards is very thin this years. The good news is you can get DeRozan for just $22, compared to $43 for Harden. Coming off a career year, this good be a great value for the No. 2 guy at the position.

Klay Thompson - In a contract year, and coming off a great performance at the World Cup, Thompson has all the incentive to have a great year. You can get him for just $20.

Small Forwards

Rudy Gay - The small forward position is home to some of the best and most expensive players in NBA fantasy - Kevin Durant, Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony. If you don't spend big on one of them, though, you'll need to dig a little deeper. You may have forgotten about Gay at this point, as he's been left for dead in Sacramento. However, he says he's lost 15 pounds in the offseason. And on a team like the Kings, he'll have plenty of opportunities to get his. He'll cost you $22, compared to $50 for Lebron.

Gordon Hayward - A video game may be the only place where Hayward will be beat Lebron, however he's a solid player with a lot of all-around skills.

Chandler Parsons - We like Parsons more than the often ballyhooed Nicolas Batum, and you can have Parsons for $21, compared to $30 for Batum.

Power Forwards

LaMarcus Aldridge - Supposedly adding the three-point shot to his game this season, we believe Aldridge is one of the best all-around power forwards in the NBA. Yet he's priced at only $25 by ESPN. Compared to $36 for an aging Dirk Nowitzki, we think this is a steal.

Thaddeus Young - Getting a fresh start in Minnesota, the athletic Young is primed to average 20 points a game on a young team that includes Ricky Rubio and Andrew Wiggins.

Josh Smith - A maddening package of talent that doesn't always deliver, Smith is still worth a flyer at $15. He's a lottery ticket, though. Could make you rich, or he could deliver nothing.

Centers

Dwight Howard - Centers have become almost an endangered species in the NBA these days. However, if you don't want to pay top dollar for injury risk picks like Anthony Davis, Serge Ibaka and Joakim Noah, Howard is still a very viable option. We thought he was the third best center in fantasy last year and he'll only cost $20, compared to $31 for Noah.

Al Jefferson - Slightly more expensive than Howard, Jefferson still stands a great chance of putting up better numbers than Ibaka and Noah.

Tim Duncan - When in doubt, go with the hall of famer. He'll miss the occasional game, but the timeless wonder got you 15 and 9 last year. He's $18. Anthony Davis is $43 and healready hurt his wrist.

Conclusion

You only have so many dollars to spend on the guys you know will be great. It's filling out the rest of your fantasy roster that will require careful spending. These value options should make it easy.